They are as big as 6 feet 6, and as small as 5-6. They play at big schools and small schools. They are a coach's son, and a son of a former Steeler. They play at skill positions and also on the lines. • They are all standout football players with sophomoric attitudes. • All around the WPIAL this season, there seems to be a phenomenon with sophomore players making big impacts and making names for themselves. Some made impacts as freshmen. Some have burst on the scene this year. • They are the stars of the future, but for them, the future is now. A few sophomores had the best running and passing performances on the first weekend of the season. • It's hard to remember so many sophomores doing so well. And people are noticing. • Greg Gattuso is an assistant coach at Pitt who recruits Western Pennsylvania. Under NCAA rules, he can't comment on a particular player. But as a group ... SEE SOPH, PAGE S-3

"We're well aware of what young guys are doing in this area, and we're well aware of all the talent in this sophomore class," Gattuso said.

Pitt already has offered a scholarship to one of those sophomores. Hopewell running back Rushel Shell was so good as a freshman that the Panthers offered him one last year.

Some of the sophomores are definite Division I college players in the future. Some might not be big-time college prospects, but are simply good high school players.

These are the sophomore sensations:

• Shell started the season with 257 yards rushing on 13 carries against Knoch, the most yards of any WPIAL running back on the opening weekend. Shell is 5-11, 215 and was named the top freshman in the country last season by Maxpreps.com after rushing for 1,518 yards. In the past seven games going back to last season, he has rushed for 1,520 yards.

• Adam Bisnowaty is a 6-6, 275-pound offensive lineman at Fox Chapel who is starting to open eyes. Fox Chapel coach Bryan Deal is a former Pitt assistant coach who said, "If the kid keeps developing on the same pattern he did from his freshman to sophomore year, he will be one of the top linemen in the country in the future."

Deal believes Bisnowaty might be destined for a standout collegiate career.

"He's an athletic tackle," Deal said. "I could put him in Pitt's locker room right now and you couldn't tell me which one was the high school lineman."

• Chartiers Valley sophomore quarterback Wayne Capers is the son of former Steelers receiver Wayne Capers Sr. The younger Capers (6-1, 180) already is making a good name for himself in his first season as the Colts' full-time QB. He completed 8 of 12 passes for 216 yards in the season opener and rushed for 76 yards.

"He has more potential than any player I've ever coached," said Chartiers Valley coach Chris Saluga.

"He's still a young kid and people have to keep that in mind, because he's already been hyped up some. But he's playing at a pretty high level already. If he continues to progress and work hard, he'll have plenty of college options in the future."

Capers, who has great leaping ability, also is a talented basketball player.

• Sophomore Damian Jones-Moore is only 5 feet 6, but he was gigantic for Central Catholic, rushing for 204 yards in the season opener. Jones-Moore rushed for more than 500 yards as a freshman, and coach Terry Totten said he could be a "special player" in the future.

• Burgettstown sophomore quarterback Dylan Bongiorni threw three touchdown passes in the season opener. Bongiorni (6-2, 170) completed 83 of 150 for 1,281 yards and 14 touchdowns as a freshman.

• Fort Cherry sophomore quarterback Tanner Garry (6-2, 180), son of Fort Cherry coach Tim Garry, threw three touchdown passes in the season opener. One of them went to his cousin, Corey, a 6-1, 235-pound sophomore fullback.

• Charleroi sophomore running back Quentin Briggs (5-10, 205) and New Brighton sophomore running back Trey Hall (5-11, 210) are expecting big seasons after rushing for more than 1,000 yards as freshmen.

• J.P. Holtz is a 6-5, 225-pound sophomore tight end-linebacker at Shaler with enormous potential. He started a playoff game at quarterback as a freshman.

• Tyler Alt is a 6-2, 265-pound sophomore lineman at Greensburg Central Catholic.

Although Alt is not a starter yet, he already has received recruiting letters from some top Division I colleges because he performed well at a few combines this summer. Florida State already called Greensburg Central coach Muzzy Colosimo about Alt.

"He's a young kid who is tighter than a drum, muscle-wise," Colosimo said. "He needs to loosen up a little bit, but he has a lot of potential."

Gattuso can't help but notice the sophomores. The first thing he does on fall Saturdays is read newspaper stories about the high school football games the previous night. If Pitt is on the road, he will check out results, scores and statistical leaders on web sites. Last year, he kept noticing freshmen making marks and now he knows they are sophomores.

"I love when people tell me to keep an eye on this young kid or that young kid," Gattuso said, "and we keep seeing how some of these young kids are doing well."

Some of these sophomores don't have just potential; they already have arrived. And maybe one of the reasons so many sophomores are making an impact is coaches are not afraid these days to play kids on the varsity level as sophomores -- or freshmen.

"I know for us, [Capers] is our best athlete -- and we want the ball in his hands every play," Saluga said.

A few decades ago, it was a pretty big deal to see a sophomore starting on the varsity. These days, a freshman in the starting lineup is not uncommon.

"We don't make a habit of starting freshmen. I think we've started three since I've been coach," said Saluga. "But I think it's just that superior talent is going to work its way up. If a player can handle things mentally, and he is physically ready [for varsity], then he deserves to compete at the highest level."

Many coaches will tell you more kids these days are physically ready to compete on the varsity level, than they were decades ago.

"Certainly, there have been great enhancements over the years with conditioning, weight training and even nutrition with younger kids," Saluga said. "The athletes will always rise to the top."

Even if they're sophomores.